Image copyright Mohammad Karoubi Image caption Mehdi Karroubi had an operation to fit a pacemaker in early August, when this photo was taken An Iranian opposition leader held under house arrest since 2011 has ended his hunger strike after the authorities accepted one of his two demands. Mehdi Karroubi, 79, stopped eating and drinking on […]

Image copyright Mohammad Karoubi Image caption Mehdi Karroubi underwent a heart operation to fit a pacemaker earlier this month An Iranian opposition leader held under house arrest since 2011 has been admitted to hospital a day after he began a hunger strike, his family says. Mehdi Karroubi had stopped eating on Wednesday to press the […]

Image copyright EPA Image caption Saudi Arabia had threatened to impose conditions on Qatari pilgrims attending the Hajj in Mecca Saudi Arabia will open its border with Qatar to allow Muslim pilgrims to attend the annual Hajj in Mecca beginning this month, state media say. The announcement came after the first high-level meeting between the […]

Image copyright AFP Image caption The Iraqi federal police said armoured and special forces units were “regrouping” outside Tal Afar Iraqi warplanes are bombarding the jihadist group Islamic State’s positions in Tal Afar, in preparation for a ground assault on the town. Tal Afar became the last IS stronghold in northern Iraq in July after […]

Image copyright Reuters Image caption Fighting involving Islamic State group militants and Syrian forces in Raqqa this week The Australian government says it is unable to confirm reports that one of its most notorious militants, Khaled Sharrouf, has been killed in Syria. According to Australian media, the so-called Islamic State fighter and two of his […]

Image copyright AFP Image caption Hassan Rouhani said that under Donald Trump the US was not a “reliable negotiator” Iran’s president has warned that it could restart its nuclear programme “within hours” if the United States imposes any more new sanctions. Hassan Rouhani also said the programme would be more advanced than in 2015, when […]

Image copyright EPA Image caption The crash is the deadliest train accident in the North African country since November 2013 Two passenger trains have collided in northern Egypt, killing at least 41 people and injuring more than 120 others, health officials say. A number of carriage were derailed by the accident in the coastal city […]

Image copyright AFP Image caption Yisrael Kristal, the world’s oldest man, has died at the age of 113 The world’s oldest man – the only member of his immediate family to survive the Holocaust – has died at the age of 113. Polish-born Yisrael Kristal died on Friday, a month before he was due to […]

Image copyright IOM Image caption Survivors from Wednesday’s incident found on a beach by IOM staff in Shabwa, Yemen At least 19 migrants have died after being deliberately drowned, the UN’s migration agency says. Many of the drowned were thought to be teenagers originating from Somalia and Ethiopia. Hundreds of migrants were forced from a […]

Two passenger trains have collided in northern Egypt, killing at least 21 people and injuring dozens, health officials say. One train was travelling from Cairo and the other from Port Said when they hit head-on in the northern coastal city of Alexandria, local media report. Emergency teams are at the scene. It is not yet […]